Odourless poem

boo is smell/ but boo is also in boodan/ which is “to be”

 

for Bardia Sina’ei

alas, who was the third one weeping?

I thought we were only two!

—Hossein Panahi

boo is smell

but boo is also in boodan

which is “to be”

like the phrase

be toe boodan

“to be without you”

but the persian be

means without

be toe

“without you”

the boo in boodan

akin to english Be

to be

but the persian to

means “Inside” or “In”

and the persian In

means “this”

to be

is illegible

but be-to

means “No Insides” or “empty”

to be be-to

to be “empty” “endless”

to be be-boo

to be odourless

to be two beings

to be into be-to beings

people hollowed out

in two

“Right Here”

be toe

be you

without you

longing to be-longing

where loss is a “flirt”

and law is “between”

man and ma(w)

but

longing to “no”-longing

to be into beings

“right here”

without you

you flirt

you husky man

where man is “me”

be toe as in man

“without you” as in “me”

as in

the crux “of this” translation

be toe man as in [...]

a “toe-less” man [fled] “off of this” [sentence]

I is a noise I make without you

instead of “ouch”

notice the “ch” in both

‘ouch’ and ‘ache’

like a german “Ich”

but in no way related

we can all proclaim ourselves in pain

I am man

an existent “me”, aching

as man be toe

“from me to you”

man to toe

me in you

toe be man

you be me

you without me

now share

this “Poem”

share a man

is “my poem”

that I wrote for me

for myself

for a man

as man

as you

I = am

flipped to ma(w)

this is “Us” now

man toe ma(w)

me

you

and our teeth

fading into the void between

man vs ma(w)

teeth

locked into a jaw

which is a “place” of its own

in jaw

“this place”

be jaw

“without place”

“exiled?”

man o toe in jaw

“me and you, here”

me and you

connected by an O

add another O

and it becomes OO

third person

genderless

man

o

toe

me

and

you

man

o

toe

o

oo

me

and you

and a third person

genderless [(pro)-]noun


 

About the author

Khashayar “Kess” Mohammadi (They/Them) is a queer, Iranian born, Toronto-based Poet, Writer, and Translator. Their full-length collaborative poetry manuscript G is out with Palimpsest Press (Fall 2023), and their full-length collection of experimental dream-poems Daffod*ls is out with Pamenar Press. Their translation of Ghazal Mosadeq’s Andarzname is forthcoming with Ugly Duckling Presse (Fall 2025). Their fifth poetry manuscript Book of Interruptions is forthcoming with Wolsak and Wynn Fall 2025.